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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22440979">Goddess of Amber</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Restitutor_Orbis/pseuds/Restitutor_Orbis'>Restitutor_Orbis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Ballad of Fire [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, leliana gets a flower crown, she deserves it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:47:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,806</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22440979</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Restitutor_Orbis/pseuds/Restitutor_Orbis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Skyhold's Gardens are weaved in falling leaves of crimson and gold and amber, crafted by a goddess brighter than life.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Inquisitor &amp; Leliana, Female Inquisitor/Leliana (Dragon Age), Leliana &amp; Female Trevelyan, Leliana/Female Trevelyan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Ballad of Fire [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1352068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Goddess of Amber</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I'm sick, and I needed some Leliana/Inquisitor fluff between my Trevelyan, Alexandra, and our beloved, stabby spymaster.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Gusts of winds weaved leaves of amber into a spiral throughout the skies, the air sweet and cool. Through thin branches flecked with a tapestry of crimson and gold and pink, sunlight spilled in white bars, and washed the earth with a light and airy touch. Puddles of water faintly shimmered beneath the light, and the mud in the garden was soft underfoot. Skyhold blossomed with purple verbenas and clematis, orange-touched marigolds and yellow daisies, and white lilies whom were greeted by magnolia flowers. In a land where only the bitter cold and dead things slept, the fortress seemed to brim with life and laughter, as if the cold wind drifted away for a spring breeze. It felt like that to Leliana. Though, her eyes remained on a black flower with golden-shewn green pistil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wind stirred Alexandra’s hair, waves of darkness rising and falling to reveal a sharp, chiseled jaw, and a long neck, pale and unmarred by any flaw. An arm was lazily thrown over the back of a chair, one leg resting over the other, and that unfailing smile still dancing on her lips. In certain lights, Leliana noticed the smile meant many different meanings. When torchlight graced her skin, flushed the pale skin with an orangey-hue tinted with gold, the smile seemed almost wicked and mischievous; at other times the smile was one of arrogance and confidence, irresistible but in ways insufferable, as well. But the sunlight touched and brightened the flecks of gold in her green eyes, and her smile seemed softer, calmer, like a cat lazily resting beneath a window. It was a pleasant smile, one that had little to do with seduction or shows of power. Her eyes drifted half-lidded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leliana shifted a bit, unused to the lack of armor which nearly protected her from all sides. Her lack of protection had been requested by Alexandra herself, and while she did enjoy the freedom that came from the absence of chainmail weighing heavily upon her shoulders, the softness where the wind was able to caress her skin was nearly remote to her. </span>
  <span>The breeze caught a handful of her copper strands. They fluttered in the wind, grazing the nape of her neck like the touch of a most gentle lover, tracing circles on her skin, and rising prickles along her slender arms.</span>
  <span> Rising her cup of tea, Leliana blew the tendrils of steam from the bronzed-amber surface; and brought the rim to her lips, sipped, and fought the urge to sigh. From the corner of her eye, she could notice, and felt, Alexandra’s stare upon her, as lazy as it had been before when they watched the twirling dance of flaming leaves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She notched an eyebrow. “Yes?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re beautiful,” said Alexandra, seemingly almost breathless. That had brought her second eyebrow join her first in a rise. Alexandra wore a suit of black velvet, with accents and embroidery of gold twinning in floral design across the dark fabric. A sash of creamy-white ran from her left shoulder down to wrap around her waist, and her black breeches were form-fitted and pleasantly displayed the tones of the Inquisitor’s legs, capped with leather riding boots as dark as most of the ensemble. The outfit had only caused her eyebrows to raise even further, and she felt the corner of her lips twitch upward. In comparison to nearly the grandiose suit, Leliana had dressed plained: a loose tunic that did little to constraint her movements at her arms or tighten too heavily at her shoulders, and breeches which fitted snugly at her hips. And yet the Inquisitor had found such simplicity beautiful. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pandering, or genuine. Perhaps even both.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Leliana had grown far too used to the Inquisitor’s comments, though they were pretty enough. She readily had thrown out flattery as it was alms to a beggar, and despite her best wishes not too, Leliana could not deny the effect that it had over her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A warmth pricked her cheeks, and she hid it by raising her cup once more to her lips, and sipped long. The tea bursted into her mouth, tasting as sweet as summer air and as warm as a fire at a hearth. An easiness flowed through her body, bones laxing and shoulders untightening. With the contrast of the coolness of the wind and the buzzing warmth of the tea, Leliana could not deny herself that she had felt more relaxed now than she had been in a long time.  “You flatter me, Inquisitor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She heard Alexandra’s sigh of annoyance, though her smile did not seem to waver at all. She seemed almost amused, as if she expected such an answer. Leliana had no doubt that it was a high possibility. If Leliana was ten steps ahead of the others in the Inquisition, it always appeared that Alexandra was striding with her and beyond, taking one, two, three steps ahead before Leliana had caught up. At other times, it seemed akin to a dance, an unknown question on which one of them led and which followed. Often than not, it was Leliana who followed. “Must you be like this?” asked Alexandra, shaking her head and raising her own cup, lined with twirling vines of blue quartz, to drink in an easy, slow manner. “It would be easier if you merely accepted the compliment, Leliana; and how many times have I told you to refer to my given name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A certain light brimmed in her eyes - one that spoke of a feeling that Leliana both recognized and did not. The gold seemed to have trembled, weaving alongside the green to craft a fire golden-shot and emerald-touched, but the fire did little to identify what exactly Alexandra had been feeling. She wore her mask as excellent as any other Leliana had known. There were even moments where she did not even know if the smile belonged to the Inquisitor or Alexandra Trevelyan; the idea or the woman. Perhaps it was both. Instead of answering, Leliana merely nodded and sipped, hoping that it seemed absentmindedly. Saying her name meant tying a cord that Leliana was not ready for. She could accept the flirtations easily, but she would not allow the barrier to shatter between them. When she looked into the Inquisitor’s eyes, it was all far too easy to tear it down; it was already more fragile than it needed to be. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span> the name of Alexandra Trevelyan would be left unspoken, if she had her way. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leliana’s silence roused another sigh from the Inquisitor's lips, and from the corner of her eye the Spymaster watched as she leaned back, sprinkles of light shivering across her dark curls - a diadem of white and gold over soft t. The wind was the only one to fill the quiet, alongside the softly spoken hums of the Chants of Light. She watched as the leaves billowed upward and glided down in a low wave. At some moments, she drank from the cup, but it remained, more or less, on the small plate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Inquisitor did not utter a word, nor did a sound of breath escaped from her nose. Shifting a little in her chair, her hips dipping to the right so Leliana could rest her chin on her hand’s palm, she viewed the Inquisitor with glancing eyes. The Chosen of Andraste did not move, her hands remained clasped near her lap, and as still as a statue. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She almost looks like a statue, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she thought. Skin as white as marble, she was painted black for her hair, green and gold for her eyes, and a touch of red upon her lips and cheeks. Her smile was still there, though its warmth was lacking and they did not meet her eyes. A mist lightly layered and shifted in her eyes, like a forest obscured by a heavy, thickening fog. Did her words affect her that much? Her lips thinned and her eyebrows furrowed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, her vision became filled with whirling hues of crimson and gold and pink, like a swirling fire consuming the entirety of her world. A thin cry from the wind echoed in her ears, twirling about in a pitched manner. They wheeled up, and Leliana had to blink as the few specks of sunlight seemed as bright as a desert’s sun. The wind pressed and pulled her tunic against and away as it settled back into a light, gentle breeze. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her tea was still in her cup, even after the hurricane of vibrant colors, undisturbed. The garden was as peaceful as it had been before, the leaves still weaving across the skies, the branches gently scraping against one another, the sun still pouring rays of white. But, at the corner of her eye, something dropped, though it curved a little upward as she focused on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dabbing it with her finger, and it was soft to her touch. She raised her other hand to her head, and lightly grazed it, fingers gidding across pads of softness, and there was a freshness unscented before filling her senses. </span>
  <em>
    <span>They are flowers, </span>
  </em>
  <span>she realized after a few moments, twined with a thin string of what seemed to be twigs fused and carved to lose certain points of sharpness. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a crown. A crown of flowers</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There. Now you looked the part. The Goddess of Light and Fire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leliana turned and raised an eyebrow, hands still resting on the crown. “You did this, I presume,” she said, almost dryly. But for some unknown reason, she did not have it in her to fully distaste it. Instead, Leliana felt a certain warmth rushing up her cheeks, burning as if the sun had washed fully over her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Inquisitor’s smile was fully disarming. It was cheeky, shy, and pleased, all in one. Leliana noticed the twirling of her thumbs over one another on her lap, and it took her a moment to realize that the Inquisitor said, “Are you pleased?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leliana blinked. The words she had wanted to say seemed trapped in her throat, refusing to escape from her mouth. There was an eagerness in her eyes, which melted away the usual confidence that Leliana had grown so accustomed to. In a certain way, it was almost </span>
  <em>
    <span>endearing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Leliana swallowed, and tried to ignore the warmth flooding her chest. But she could not ignore the smile that escaped her watch, forming at the corner of her lips, and twerking upward. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Probing it, gliding over it, Leliana felt the calm from before raise the unseen burden from her shoulders. When did it get there? Though, that thought only lasted for a few moments, as Leliana said in a soft voice which seemed to be carried by the wind, “Thank you...Alexandra.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And she wondered if Alexandra knew that she looked the most like the Goddess of Light when she smiled. </span>
</p>
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